Riding with a 17"130/70 in the rear wheel?

Hello all,

I'm in La Paz, Bolivia now and have no more spare rear tube. (Stock 17" wheel)
After looking for a 17" 150/70, the only thing I found is a Kawazaki 17" 130/70.

Could I use that as a spare tube to do the 2000km or so to the next town big enough to have stock tubes?
I'm afraid to destroy the tire or worse, the rim.

Let me know guys!
Guillaume

I think you'll be fine, we've put 21 inch tubes in 18 inch tires to get by.

good luck

It "should" be ok, I've done it in a pinch on supermoto track bikes even using a 160 tire. Then again, those are much lighter, and i didn't ride them on the road where would I crash into a guard railing or get under a truck if they failed....

I wouldn't go blasting the highway with them to avoid excessive heat build up, but if you take it easy you should be fine.

Thanks for your reply guys, Ill keep it as an emergency backup then ;-)
Cheers

Did you happen to run into a British rider called Guy on a F650GS twin? He was stuck in La Paz with a busted fuel pump a few weeks ago and I shipped him a replacement. Hope you are carrying a spare!

Havent seen him, you got another pump ready for shipping just in case? ;-)

Yeah I've got one more. BTW I also carry a spare on my own bike, if you take it out of the housing it's really a small and light piece!




There is also discussion in another thread about an aftermarket replacement. I don't think there is any experience with it yet, but if it turns out to be good quality that lasts it will be a much cheaper alternative to the BMW part.

One rider who was stuck in Russia (?) used a generic Bosch pump and that didn't really work as he is on his second or third now, not sure what the reason is.